Sending off
was harsh
says Finnian

Armagh defender Finnian Moriarty says his dismissal in the early stages of the second half was harsh.

The home side were forced to re -group when their skipper Cieran McKeever was sent off in the early stages along with Tyrone’s Colm Kavanagh and Moriarty before being dismissed was showing great leadership in an opening period where he was his teams most effective player.

The Derrymacash man during his time on the pitch held the talented Kyle Cooney scoreless and was involved in several telling tackles.

The challenge however which led to his eventual dismissal in his opinion was “hard, but fair,” he claimed,.

“Of course the referee will have his own opinion on things,” said Moriarty. “I don’t think there was a dirty tackle in the game. For my second yellow I stood the Tyrone player up, nothing more than that, and I was shocked when the second yellow was issued.”

Finnian was one of three Armagh players to be sent off last Sunday. Following a mass brawl Kieran McKeever received his marching orders and St. Peter’s Aaron Findon was dismissed in the final quarter for a second bookable offence.

Moriarty said that so called “moral victories” don’t sit well with himself and his fellow players.

“Some fans may suggest that we secured some sort of moral victory over Tyrone considering we finished with 12 players on the pitch, but irrespective how you look at it we lost a game which we could have won. It wasn’t by any means a dirty game and was played at a decent pace, but there is still a long way to go in the competition.”

Despite last Sundays defeat Armagh can still qualify for the McKenna Cup final, games against Antrim and St. Mary’s Teacher Training College could yield full points, but nothing can be taken for granted concluded Finnian who said ,“We are currently building up to our league opener in early February. The manager will be changing the side on a weekly basis so places are up for grabs.”